Rape: Victim Support Schemes

Caroline Lucas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effects on the provision of services by independent third sector rape crisis organisations of (a) one, (b) three, (c) five and (d) eight year funding cycles; and if he will ensure provision of long-term sustainable funding for such organisations. [3576]

Mr Blunt:
The Government have made a commitment to put funding arrangements for rape crisis centres on a stable, long-term footing.

22 Jun 2010 : Column 137W

The Government Equalities Office has commissioned an independent evaluation of the grant funding it allocated to rape crisis centres in 2008-09 and 2009-10. It has also commissioned independent research on the stability and sustainability of voluntary-sector organisations that support female victims of violence, including sexual violence. The findings of these studies, which will inform an assessment of the various funding models, will be published in due course.

Caroline Lucas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice by what means funding will be provided for independent third sector rape crisis organisations from April 2011. [3577]

Mr Blunt:
The Government recognise the crucial support that rape crisis centres provide to victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence. The Coalition Agreement included a commitment to give such centres stable, long-term funding, and this commitment remains a priority for the Government. Work to develop a funding model will be carried out in conjunction with the comprehensive spending review. No final decisions will be made until the autumn, when the results of the spending review are announced.

Rape: Warrington

Helen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions for rape there were in Warrington in each of the last five years. [3828]

Mr Blunt:
Court proceedings data are not available at parliamentary constituency level. Data are given in the table for Cheshire police force area 2004 to 2008 (latest available) in which the Warrington constituency is located.

Court proceedings data for 2009 are planned for publication in October 2010.

Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for rape( 1,2 ) Cheshire police force area 2004 to 2008( 3,4)

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Proceeded against

37

45

36

29

33

Found guilty

13

12

21

13

27

(1) Includes: rape and attempted rape of a female or male.(2) Includes: conspiracies, charges of participation in offences as accessories after the fact and charges of participation in offences by impeding the apprehension or prosecution of the offender.(3) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.(4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented ace accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source:
Justice Statistics Analytical Services in the Ministry of Justice

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Victim Support Schemes: Warrington

Helen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding his Department has allocated to victim support organisations in Warrington in the latest period for which figures are available. [3283]

Mr Blunt:
The Ministry of Justice provided funding of £36.2 million to Victim Support in 2009-10 to support their work across England and Wales. Victim Support spend on support to victims and witnesses in Warrington for this period was £107,993.

In the financial year 2010-11, the Ministry of Justice and the Government Equalities Office awarded the Rape and Sexual Assault Support Centre (Cheshire and Merseyside) a grant of £41,269. This organisation provides support to victims of rape and sexual violence across the region.

Attorney-General

Domestic Violence

1. Mrs Moon:
To ask the Attorney-General what steps he plans to take to increase the rate of prosecution in cases of domestic violence. [3377]

The Solicitor-General:
I refer the hon. Member to the oral answer I provided to the question from the hon. Member for Gateshead (Ian Mearns) earlier today.

Rape Defendants: Anonymity

9. Mary Creagh:
To ask the Attorney-General what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the effect on the Crown Prosecution Service of the Government's proposals to extend anonymity to defendants in rape cases. [3385]

10. Caroline Flint:
To ask the Attorney-General what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the effect on the Crown Prosecution Service of the Government's proposals to extend anonymity to defendants in rape cases. [3386]

The Solicitor-General:
I have discussions with ministerial colleagues on a range of issues. Rape is a crime of the utmost seriousness and a careful analysis of the options and implications will be undertaken.

Human Trafficking: Prosecutions

Mr Bone:
To ask the Attorney General if he will undertake a review of the effectiveness of prosecution policy in cases involving human trafficking. [3572]

The Solicitor-General:
I have no plans to review the effectiveness of prosecution policy in human trafficking cases.

The Crown Prosecution Service has comprehensive guidance for prosecutors to ensure that decisions in human trafficking cases are taken in line with the principles in the Code for Crown Prosecutors, taking account of the particular factors which are relevant in human trafficking cases. However, if my hon. Friend has any specific concerns I invite him to write to me.

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Energy and Climate Change

Carbon Emissions: Departmental Coordination

Zac Goldsmith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much pooled funding is available to support cross-departmental co-operation on building a low carbon economy. [2331]

Gregory Barker:
While there is no pooled funding specifically to support cross-departmental co-operation, departments work together closely on policies to support the move to a low carbon economy. For example, the low carbon element of the Strategic Investment Fund-which provides targeted support for the development of a number of key low carbon sectors-is managed jointly by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). A high-level group of senior officials has also recently been established to promote more effective cross departmental working on building a low carbon economy.

Departmental Grants

Jonathan Edwards:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what capital grant schemes his Department is responsible. [1617]

Gregory Barker:
The Department is responsible for the following capital grant schemes:

Warm Front

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Boiler Scrappage Scheme

Anaerobic Digestion Demonstration Programme

Bioenergy Capital Grants Scheme

Bioenergy Infrastructure Scheme

Carbon Abatement Technologies (CAT) Demonstration Programme

Carbon Trust Applied Research Grants

Central Government Low Carbon Technology Programme

Deep Geothermal Challenge Fund

Home Energy Pay As You Save Programme

Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Demonstration Programme

Low Carbon Communities Challenge

Marine Renewables Deployment Fund

Marine Renewables Proving Fund

Off-shore Wind Demonstrators

Smart Grid Demonstration Fund

Departmental Manpower

Mr Anderson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) front-line and (b) other staff were employed by (i) his Department and (ii) each of its agencies in the latest year for which figures are available; and what his most recent estimate is of the annual cost to the public purse of employing staff of each type in his Department. [534]

Gregory Barker:
The numbers of staff employed by the Department in 2009-10 (subject to audit) are:

55 full-time equivalent front line staff at a cost of £4 million

1,003 full-time equivalent other staff at a cost of £5 8 million.

The Department has no agencies.

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Industrial Diseases: Compensation

John Mann:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the public purse of payments by his Department to solicitors and claims handlers under the coal health compensation scheme. [3434]

Charles Hendry:
The total amount the Department has paid claimants' representatives under the coal health compensation schemes for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and vibration white finger (VWF) is shown in the following table as at 13 June 2010:

Claim type

Claimants representatives costs

COPD

£1.028 billion

VWF

£187.2 million

Overall total

c.£1.215 billion

River Severn: Tidal Power

Jessica Morden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what recent assessment he has made of the prospects for harnessing energy from the Severn estuary; [3566]

(2) when he expects the Severn Tidal feasibility study to report. [3581]

Gregory Barker:
We are currently considering the recommendations from the Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study and expect to report our conclusions shortly.

Women and Equalities

Gender Recognition: Human Rights

Caroline Lucas:
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of the recommendations for Council of Europe member states on human rights and gender identity made by the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights on 29 July 2009; and if she will make a statement. [3575]

Lynne Featherstone:
This Government are committed to supporting transgender equality. On 18 June the Prime Minister launched Working for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality, which sets out a clear programme of work to combat homophobia and transphobia. In it we give a clear commitment to work with transgender groups to develop a Government Action Plan on Transgender Equality, which we will publish in 2011.

As part of the growing body of work on transgender rights, the Government believe the issue paper published by the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights on human rights and gender identity is a valuable contribution to the discussion on transgender rights in Europe. We also welcome the paper's recognition of the UK's work on equality for transsexual people as an exemplar to other member states. We will bear the Commissioner's recommendations in mind as we develop our Action Plan on Transgender Equality.

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Prime Minister

Gulf of Mexico: Oil

Gordon Banks:
To ask the Prime Minister whether he has had discussions with the (a) directors and (b) chief executive of BP on the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. [3773]

The Prime Minister:
I refer the hon. Member to the press briefing given by my official spokesman on 16 June 2010. A transcript is available on the No 10 website at:

Members: Correspondence

Mr Baron:
To ask the Prime Minister when he plans to reply to the letter to his predecessor of 20 April 2010 from the hon. Member for Billericay on Visteon. [3187]

The Prime Minister:
My hon. Friend is resending the letter which was sent prior to the election and I will happily answer.

Home Department

101 Calls

Mr Hanson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to develop a national 101 non-emergency telephone number; and if she will make a statement. [2843]

Nick Herbert:
The '101' telephone number is currently used as a non-emergency number for reporting crime and anti-social behaviour in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Sheffield and across Wales. The Government recognises the importance of easy access to public services and will consider options for the future of the '101' telephone number in due course.